Shirt board



June 27, 1939. Q B SHEPHERD 2,164,088

SHIRT BOARD Filed Jan. 13, 193'! 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0. B SHEPHERD Jung 27,'1939.

S HIRT BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. '15, 1957 Patented June 27,1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Irel and

Application January 13, 1937, Serial No. 120,431 In Great Britain April7, 1936 7 Claims.

This invention relates to shirt boards, that is supporting, foldretaining, and displaying devices for shirts, blouses, and like garments(hereinafter referred to simply as shirts). These devices, which areusually made from pulpboard material, are intended chiefly to preserveshirts in a folded condition without the use of pins, when packed fortransit, storage or sale.

One object of the present invention is to provide a shirt board to whicha shirt can be applied after being folded, and on which the shirt can bepositively held against only one face of the board solely by means ofshirt-engaging tabs. With such a shirt board it is not necessary to foldthe shirt around the board, nor is it necessary to insert the shirt intoan envelope; the shirt can be completely folded separately from theboard and can thereafter be quickly and easily applied and as quicklyand easily removed without disturbing the folds of the shirt.

A second object of the invention is to provide a shirt board whichalthough made from a single blank and having shirt engaging tabs cutfrom within the area of the board, need only be of a size correspondingto the area of the folded shirt to be applied thereto. In this wayconsiderable economy in the blank material is effected.

A third object of the invention is to provide a shirt board which can beused effectively for displaying a folded shirt, having means positivelyto hold the shirt-sleeve cufi's in exposed display position so that ifthe shirt board is inclined to the horizontal for display purposes thesleeve-cuffs will not fall from position, and having also means toprevent the shirt, and especially the upper parts thereof, from sagging,and so creasing the shirt, if the board is inclined.

With these objects in view, the shirt board according to my inventioncomprises a base made from a single blank of pulpboard material havingan inwardly-directed tongue out from within the area of the base at theupper end thereof, and two inwardly directed tongues cut from within thearea the base adjacent the lower end thereof, the material of the baseforming the tongues adjacent both ends of the base being deformed byscored lines to permit the tongues being doubled back to formshirt-engaging tabs projecting from the base and to permit the tabsbeing folded to engage the shirt, and the tongues at least the lower endof the board having fastener-receiving apertures therein.

The invention will now be described, by Way of example, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a folded shirt having one exemplary formof shirt board according to the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 illustrates the blank from which the shirt board illustrated inFig. 1 is formed.

Fig. 3 illustrates the blank from which another somewhat simpler form ofthe shirt board is made.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the top part of a folded shirt having ashirt board, such as would be formed from the blank illustrated in Fig.3, applied to it.

Referring to the drawings:

The shirt board illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a rectangularbase or back support I of cardboard against one face only of which afolded shirt 4 is held solely by means of the tab 2, and the two tabs 3.The tab 2, which is located intermediate the Width of the board adjacentthe top end thereof, is provided with side wings 2 as shown, whilst thetabs 3, which are located adjacent the corners at the foot of the board,are provided with studs holes 3*.

In use the device is applied to the shirt 4 after the latter has beencompletely folded, as shown at Fig. 1, the tab 2 being passed over theback of the shirt neckband 4 the side wings 2 being then slipped throughthe neck-opening underneath the folded front or shoulders of the shirt,as shown. The lower tabs 3 are passed round the lower end of the shirtor round the sides of the lower end thereof, and the portion with thestud holes 3 therein is passed between the two sides of the folded cuff4 being retained in position by the studs 5. It will be readily seenthat the disposition of the tabs is such that a shirt can, in a foldedcondition, be held positively against one face only of the board I, andthe removal of the device is a very simple matter and quicklyaccomplished by removing the studs 5 and pulling out the wings 2 Asshown in Fig. 2 the shirt board is made from a single blank, the tabs 2and 3 being formed by cutting tongues within the area of the deviceitself and folding the tongues so cut at the creases or scores shown bydotted lines so that they project as tabs from the board I. The creasesor scores by deforming the blank material cause the tabs when foldedover on top of the shirt to assume without difliculty the desired shapeand ensure their proper positioning.

A simpler form of the device is shown at Figs. 3 and 4. In this case thetab with side wings is replaced by a simple projection 6 having a studhole 6 whereby the tab can be secured to a stud 'l in the back stud holeof the shirt neckband 4 Otherwise the device is the same as shown anddescribed with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. This form of the device maybe preferred in some cases as the back support or board has less cut outof it and would therefore be relatively more rigid.

The tabs 2 and 3 may be attached to the board I instead of being cut outtherefrom.

Further by using an extended blank it would be possible to extend thewing portion down behind the folded front of the shirt for some distanceif additional support or stiffness is desired.

As it is quite usual to provide a simple rectangular cardboard supportwith the shirt when it is sent from the laundry, the additional cost ofthe improved fold-retaining device will be quite small especially if thetabs are formed by cutting from a single blank, and if the tabs are cutin the form of inwardly directed tongues within the area of the boardwhich tongues are doubled back along the scored lines, as shown, so asto form the projecting tabs, the margin which must be left between thetongues and the edges of the blank to ensure sufficient strength doesnot project as waste material beyond the part of the board upon whichthe shirt rests.

Suitable advertising matter can be printed or otherwise displayed on thedevice as desired.

The expression pulpboard, used in the specification and claims, isintended to cover paperboard, cardboard, millboard and analogous stiffsheet material.

I claim:

1. A shirt board, comprising a base made from a single blank ofpulpboard material having an inwardly-directed tongue out from withinthe area of the base at the upper end thereof, and two inwardly directedtongues cut from within the area of the base adjacent the lower endthereof, the material of the base forming the tongues adjacent both endsof the base being deformed by scored lines to permit the tongues beingdoubled back to form shirt-engaging tabs projecting from the base and topermit the tabs being folded to engage the shirt, and the tongues at atleast the lower end of the board having fastenerreceiving aperturestherein.

2. A device for holding shirts in a folded condition, comprising asupporting board of pulpboard material and shirt-engaging tabs withfastener-receiving apertures therein, the tabs projecting from oppositeends of the board so that a folded shirt fastened to the board by saidtabs can be held positively against one face only of said board solelyby means of said tabs, .and the device being made from a singlepulpboard blank having inwardly directed tongues cut from within thearea of the board adjacent opposite ends thereof and folded at scoredlines so as to form the projecting tabs.

3. A device for holding shirts in a folded condition comprising asupporting board of pulpboard material, a tab having a lateralprojection and which in shirt-engaging position projects inwardly fromadjacent the edge of the board at one end thereof so as to overlie theboard, and at least one shirt-engaging tab with a fastenerreceivingaperture therein on the board adjacent the opposite end thereof, thedevice being made from a single blank of the pulpboard material havingtongues out within the area of the board and folded so as to form saidtabs.

4. In combination a shirt in flat folded condition and a device forholding the shirt entirely on one side thereof comprising a supportingsheet and tab means adjacent opposite ends of said sheet, a lateralprojection on the tab means at one end engaging in the neck of the shirtand positively preventing inward movement of the neck relative to thesheet, and connecting members positively connecting the tab means at theother end of the sheet with the shirt cuffs, the tab means beingdisposed in triangular formation so that the entire shirt is positivelyprevented from sliding relatively to the sheet.

5. In combination a shirt in fiat folded condition and a device forholding the shirt entirely on one side thereof comprising a supportingsheet and tab means adjacent opposite ends of said sheet, a lateralprojection on the tab beans at one end engaging in the neck of the shirtand positively preventing inward movement of the neck relative to thesheet, apertures in the tab means at the other end of the sheet, whichtab means consists of two substantially spaced apart tab members, andstud means engaging said apertures and the link holes in the shirtcuffs, the tab means being disposed in triangular formation so that theentire shirt is positively prevented from sliding relatively to thesheet.

6. In combination a shirt in fiat folded condition and a device forholding the shirt entirely on one side thereof comprising a supportingsheet and tab means adjacent opposite ends of said sheet, a connectingmember positively connecting the tab means at one end of the sheet withthe back stud hole in the neck of the shirt and positively preventinginward movement of the neck relative to the sheet, and connectingmembers positively connecting the tab means at the other end of thesheet with the shirt cuffs, the tab means being disposed in triangularformation so that the entire shirt is positively prevented from slidingrelatively to the sheet.

7. In combination a shirt in flat folded condition and a device forholding the shirt entirely on one side thereof comprising a supportingsheet and tab means adjacent opposite ends of said sheet, an aperture inthe tab means at one end of the sheet, a stud member engaging saidaperture and the back stud hole in the neck of the shirt, apertures inthe tab means at the other end of the sheet which tab means consists oftwo substantially spaced apart tab members and stud members engagingsaid apertures and the link holes in the shirt cuffs, the tab meansbeing disposed in triangular formation so that the entire shirt ispositively prevented from sliding relatively to the sheet.

OLIVER. BERTRAND SHEPHERD.

